Trump World Grab-Bag--A Collection

Monday, February 13, 2017

None of this Stuff is Normal

The above picture is Trump at Mar-A-Lago, where he received a call that North Korea had launched a ballistic missile. Although you could call the resort very exclusive (as in "pricey") I don't think you could actually call it "secure". As in, I don't know that it's actually ok that national security issues are mapped out in a place public enough that randos can take snaps of a curiously-composed CINC who seems cut-off from the flurry of discussion behind him-because a camera happens to be pointed in his direction.

This is fairly removed from a discussion one might have had about electronic communications occurring during the previous administration. This is not normal, and for an administration that already has engendered a fraught relationship with the intelligence community, openly flouting procedure is not going to be a good confidence-booster.

You'd think that Congress might offer some oversight--but no. Apparently, tax cuts for rich people and dismantling the social safety net have a lot more priority than complete confidence in the basic competence of the executive branch for GOP elected officials.